UH to build new stadium on site of existing one

By Sam Khan Jr. |
March 27, 2012
| Updated: March 28, 2012 11:59am

Over the next two-plus years, UH will move from envisioning what its new stadium will look like to enjoying the real thing on the present site of Robertson Stadium.

Fast-forward to December. The Houston Cougars are coming off a second consecutive appearance in the Conference USA Championship Game and are preparing for another bowl.

Across the street from the practice fields, wrecking balls are hitting Robertson Stadium, tearing down a facility that has been standing since 1941. A product of a joint project between Houston ISD and the Works Progress Administration, Robertson originally was a high school stadium, but it was renovated in the late 1990s to increase seating capacity to 32,000 and has served as the University of Houston's home football stadium since.

Now fast-forward to September 2014. Tailgaters are arriving hours before kickoff, and students are walking across Cullen Boulevard to join in on the fun as pregame festivities begin before a home opener. The Cougars, now members of the Big East Conference, are set to host their first game in a new 40,000-seat stadium with a price tag north of $100 million. A standing-room-only crowd is expected, and cars fill the new parking garage that sits next to the stadium.

This is the vision UH has in mind for its future. Another step toward that future was taken Tuesday as UH's board of regents finalized the location of the Cougars' new football facility, approving the current Robertson Stadium site to serve as the future stadium location when the Cougars break ground in December.

"I'm very excited, very thrilled," UH chancellor and president Renu Khator said. "We have the green light now, and we can go and build the stadium. It's another step in making sure that our athletics program is suited for a Tier One university."

Cullen/I-45 idea nixed

While the plan for the stadium since the idea's conception has been to build at the current Robertson Stadium site, the board of regents elected at its February meeting to defer location approval in order to take one more look at the site of the UH intramural fields near the intersection of Interstate 45 and Cullen Boulevard. It was one of the three sites examined in the original feasibility study UH commissioned in 2010 before the Robertson Stadium site was selected as the preferred option.

Over the last month, UH studied the feasibility of what it would take to place the stadium at the Cullen/I-45 site and found an increased price tag of roughly $40 million, an increased difficulty in expanding the stadium to the eventual goal of 60,000 seats, and a longer timeline for completion. The visibility of the stadium would be greatly enhanced at that location, but the board decided that didn't outweigh the other drawbacks.

The deferral didn't affect the construction timeline but gave Khator and the board validation of their original vision. Keeping the stadium at the current site means there will be consistency in walking distance for students, areas for tailgaters, and a good way to utilize the new parking garage that is nearing completion next to Robertson.

"I'm a very methodical person, and I like to have all options carefully looked at," Khator said. "I'm glad that the board asked us to do further analysis, because I have total peace in my heart knowing that this is truly the best option for us."

So what's next? UH will hire a design firm and a construction manager, then immediately begin stadium design. Athletic director Mack Rhoades estimated those decisions could be made within the next three weeks.

The Cougars will play one final season at Robertson this fall before demolishing the stadium and beginning construction in December. Construction is projected to take 18-20 months, with completion targeted in the summer of 2014. With no final decisions being made regarding the 2013 season, the possibility of UH playing its home games at Reliant Stadium remains the most likely option at this point.

"Discussions with Reliant have gone terrific, and we hope to have an agreement soon," Rhoades said. "Certainly, that's the one that excites us, because look at that facility."

New practice facility

Also high on UH's priority list is the renovation of Hofheinz Pavilion. Rhoades said the hope is to begin renovation on that facility in 2013. Not only would the arena be renovated, but the project would include the construction of a new practice facility with two basketball courts, coaches' office suites and locker rooms. Projected cost of the Hofheinz project is $38 million to $40 million.

"When we look at our total project, the stadium is so important, but we also have to make sure the arena and the attached practice facility happen pretty quickly thereafter," Rhoades said.

For UH, it is no longer a matter of "if" the work on the facilities will get done but rather "when," which is significant for the future of Cougars athletics.

"This is reality," board of regents chairperson Nelda Blair said. "Cougar Nation, this is an exciting time. We have a new stadium coming. It's going to be right where Robertson Stadium is. Not rebuilt, but brand new, just for you."